Permitted (Somarinoa)
thumb|300px Permitted stand approximately 7.5 feet tall, with their legs and stiffened elongated toes taking up about half of their total body height—the rest of the body consists of a muscular upper torso that slims drastically into a very thin midsection. They are tridactyl—they possess three toes on each foot and three fingers on each hand. Each finger possesses four joints, with two of the fingers having evolved into makeshift opposable thumbs, which close against the palms. Their legs are digitigrade, meaning they walk on their toes, giving them a sort of graceful yet stalking stride when moving, but allowing for quick movements when required. Their heads are elongated and mostly featureless. Upon this head are two eyes—large, glinting oval organs which reflect a large amount of light, even in a dim location (it is said that their eyes "glint like a thousand midnights", even in the darkness). These eyes are always a single, solid color, but can be either jet black or very dark blue. Several small horn-like projections extend from the skull, allowing direct atmospheric intake into their cerebral ganglion—their answer to the brain. Other extensions grow out of the elbows and ankles, while the pelvis bones themselves also protrude significantly. It is believed that these extensions serve as anchors for powerful musculatures, although direct scientific knowledge of their species is mostly anecdotal, due to their refusal to associate with other sapient species. Their skin appears smooth and has a pale bluish-white hue to it. Two small holes exist on the sides of the head, just beneath the midline ridge, and are most likely the ear canals. The midline ridge starts just a few inches behind the eyes and runs to the very tip of the skull. They completely lack a mouth, feeding instead through a permeable membrane in the mouth's typical location, "sweating" out digestive juices to break down organic material, and then reabsorb it in liquid form. Statistics *'Homeplanet:' Tropha **'Common Environments:' Often offworld on innumerable preserve worlds *'Locomotion:' Digitigrade bipedal walking *'Personality:' Xenophobic hunters *'Affiliation:' Independent *'Racial Leader(s):' The Tribunal *'Archetype(s):' Hunting party ships *'Archetype(s):' Warrior *'Primary language(s):' Permitted *'Alignment:' Neutral *'Collective Noun:' Parties *'Biochemistry:' Carbon-based lifeform Information Sporepedia Descriptions Permitted "An ancient civilization, the Permitted pride themselves upon one major thing: the hunt. While incredibly xenophobic due to past problems with other sapients, they spend much time collecting and hunting non-sapients that they consider "worthy adversaries"." Permitted Huntsman "Permitted Huntsman were the first iteration of sapient hunters on Tropha, for a race that would eventually come to call themselves the Permitted. Their uniforms were simply leaves tied together, showing their absolutely primitive styling." Permitted Sportshunter "Permitted civilization was a curious period in terms of hunting technology. They begun to wear elaborate caps to hide their elongated skulls." Permitted Trophyhunter "Permitted trophyhunters are the apex of their entire culture, and have been utilized for millions of years now. They are known for their sapient xenophobia and obtaining of trophy prey to hunt, placed onto their innumerable preserve worlds." Scientific Classification Under Construction Physiology Communicatory Style They communicate using vocal tones and are capable of proper speech despite the lack of an actual mouth. It was the Permitted who (inadvertently) taught the Aurix the ancient name of their world—Vuunega—used by the Zomm, which would eventually find its way into the name of the planet during the Aurixan rule as well. They speak through vocal cords within their throat, which vibrate their permeable membrane. Special organs that operate in a similar manner to teeth and a tongue allow for proper enunciation. Behavior Permitted appear to be capable of incredible amounts of focus, and do not seem likely to be distracted when concentrating on something; a few guards on Vuunega in fact died because of this when the Aurix snuck up behind them during the Tragedy on Vuunega. At the same time, they have shown bouts of suspicion, proving their capabilities of complex thought. They do not seem to have problems taking orders from superiors, and appear to also respect their elders. Permitted do not seem to enjoy the company of other sapient races, due to several bad experiences with others. The ruling Tribunal has deemed taking sapients on-board a Permitted ship as being heavy treason and very few Permitted are willing to break this rule and commit themselves to a life of exile if not quick execution. They seem to enjoy collecting non-sapient specimens off various worlds they have come in contact with, but as to whether they are conservationists, collectors, or something else is still debated amongst the other races. In truth, they are trophy hunters. Social Structure Little is known about their apparent social structure, although from what is known they work well in groups, usually consisting of about five members each, doing various tasks required by the whole to make them be completed faster. Elders seem to glean respect from their younger counterparts and are able to order others around, at least in an off-world situation—on the homeworld it is the Tribunal which possesses absolute authority over all individuals—even so it is believed that elders still hold more sway and respect above younger members. Elders appear to teach younger, more inexperienced members the ins and outs of the duties of a Permitted, although the total extent of this is unknown. The ruling body of the Permitted is known as the Tribunal. This group seems to hold absolute power as to the ultimate actions of each Permitted group, and if they did not write the laws to which the species as a whole follows, they certainly are the ones who enforce them. The Permitted Language The Permitted language is spoken through the use of specialized organs and a vibrating membrane. Even so, they are capable of surprising enunciation, allowing them to speak fluent vocal speech and can understand and likely speak other species' languages, as well. Below is some of their language. Translatable Words *'Ah:' "Exist" — existence, exist, to exist, is *'Abala'aa:' "Even with" — even with, including *'Dyyna:' "To trust one" — expect, trust, to expect or trust *'Elyei'oyanalaha:' "Will you assist?" — Help, will you help *'Eradicados:' Retaliate, retaliation, to retaliate *'Garoosh:' "What one has done" — Your actions *'Klya:' "However" *'Mimyia:' "To seek" — seek, to seek, request *'Notrenks:' "One cannot" — cannot, you/they/we cannot *'Quora:' "What is required" — required, needed, necessity *'Uley'coroshan:' Focus — used as a command *'Uu'uuvuu:' "A proud species" *'Vavava:' "The lack of" — Not to do something *'Vel:' "See" — see, seeing, sight, you see *'Vr'akala:' "Intruding organism" (non-sapient or unknown intellect) *'Vr'diskaray:' The Fittest/Meteor Kings *'Vr'uutalyana:' "Fellow Sapient" (becomes "Smart Intruder" later on) *'Vuunega:' "Planet Vuunega" (adopted from Zommian) *'Xi:' "Stop" — stop, to stop *'Yel'permisha:' The Permitted *'Yutala:' "Does one" — Do, do you Sentence Examples *'Original:' "Vr'akala!! Yutala vel garoosh!? Notrenks dyyna yel'permisha vavava eradicados!!" *'Translation:' "Intruding organism!! Do you see your actions!? You cannot expect the Permitted the lack of retaliation!!" *'Original:' "Yel'permisha uu'uuvuu, klya notrenks xi vr'akala abala'aa uley'coroshan. Mimyia vr'uutalyana ah quora. Elyei'oyanalaha?" *'Translation:' "The Permitted are a proud species, however we cannot stop the intruding organism even with focus. To seek fellow sapients is what is required. Will you help?" Technologies The Permitted use holographic imagery to show things more clearly to others, and are known to possess very detailed maps of planets they have visited. It is unknown whether or not this technology possesses audible sound capabilities or not. They possess interstellar travel if not intergalactic and have been known to visit other worlds; including Velara, Vuunega and Earth. They have been known to capture fauna of varying sizes on each of these worlds and have been witnessed placing them in stasis containment fields, also of varying sizes. These containment stations are relocatable and can be moved on and off of their ships through the use of repulsor lift technology. Their ships possess an on-board Tribunal Scanner, located within the cargo bay, that automatically scans for unauthorized sapients. This scanner is tied directly to the hyper-acceleration drives and the discovery of sapients immediately cut off the engines in an attempt to strand the 'betrayers' out in space forever. Those who actually survive this sudden exile and others of similar causes become known as the Banned. Knowledge of the Banned is withheld from Permitted community to keep their inhabitants more afraid of disobeying the Tribunal rules more than they may otherwise be. While they do possess a number of weapons, the only ones recognized as such are handheld items and it is unknown if ships utilize offensive technologies. Tribunal Technology Monitor Drones The Monitor Drones are issued and considered high law within Permitted culture. They are normally cloaked by a small personal cloaking device, and will never act on a Permitted's behalf. The most complex models of these AI-controlled robots are issued to Hunters, who they follow around, viewing and memorizing every action, every inaction. These recordings are then viewed by the Tribunal, and are used to determine whether a Hunter deserves a promotion or even a demotion in rank. As rank determines what weaponry a Hunter may carry, they naturally seek promotion. Monitors are linked to the ship's AI, their Hunter, the Tribunal, and each other. When a Hunter is killed, the Monitor returns to the ship, entering through a porthole at the very top of the vessel. From here it uses the ship's signaling devices to transmit to the Tribunal of the death. If too many Permitted die in a single hunt, the Monitors transmit the information to each other; this is the only instance a Monitor will intervene in a Hunter's actions, which it typically does by advising them vocally. However, if doing so will endanger the Permitted they service, they will instead move close to the Permitted's head and emit a small light, to inform them that their ship (and only ticket home) may be in danger. With this knowledge, each Hunter is expected to convert to a sort of militarized mode, and defend the ship at all costs. This came about due to encounters with the Meteor Kings. Distress Beacon Distress Beacons are somewhat bulky handheld devices that utilize hover technology. These were often used in earlier times to signal to any sapient species within a certain distance of its use, and was tied in to the holo-orbs that were the standard for communication of the era. With the Permitted's increase in xenophobia due to several bad encounters with other sapients, the Distress Beacons eventually fell out of favor and then out of use. Elders in various Permitted expeditions and hunts were given these items for emergency use only. To utilize its technology, the Elder would remove it from its casing in his uniform and press several buttons on a sort of keypad—this would allow him to indicate the direness of his situation, and increase the speed at which the signal could travel, and to some extent, its range (this allowed them to try and avoid contacting pirate species during certain times). Once the settings were locked in, the Elder would drop the item from his hand. Sensors built into the machine allowed it to realize that it had been dropped, and its hover technology would quickly kick in, allowing it to float before it ever hit the ground. Once in hover mode, it would move itself out several yards away from where it had been dropped (aided through a powerful GPS guidance system) as to avoid injuring its user. From here it would deploy itself, splitting into four separate modules. One of these modules remained in the middle and expanded itself into its full size, initiating the Aidseeker technology. The other three modules would surround the Aidseeker module and rotate, ever increasing in speed to build up vast amounts of kinetic energy, which were fed to the middle module via osmosis. Once fully charged as per the setting parameters set earlier, it would fire off a beam of vastly-energized light particles known as hyperlight, on which the information of the distress call would travel. This hyperlight could travel at many times the speed of typical light, allowing it to bridge the gap between star systems with ease. One side effect of the use of the hyperlight was that it released a high-pitched ringing noise that could temporarily deafen those around it, causing their ears to ring, and in the case of the most sensitive of ears, even cause them to bleed. The hyperlight transmitter was designed to disperse the light somewhat, allowing it to cover a large area in a cone, although this dispersal would not take place until it left the atmosphere due to gravitational forces and set parameters. When the hyperlight was received by a vessel or other sapient vessel, a small nanoprobe sent along the hyperlight would transmit back to the Aidseeker module that it had been received, which would cause the machine to beep and blip. Since the nanoprobes were built to replicate extremely quickly, they could easily travel on enough of the hyperlight particles to be picked up along with it no matter how dispersed it would become. It was customary at the time of the Permitted Distress Beacon's use for any and all races to send one of their holo-orbs to the location of the beacon to discuss the matter. Each species were given the "right" to create their own symbol etching to represent their species, and so each species had a specific symbol on their holo-orbs that no other race would have. To prevent waste of materials, holo-orbs were set to return to their point of origin once the transmissions from their user was ended. Weaponry Light Spear The constant companion of the novice ranks, this is the standard issue weaponry, given to all aspiring Hunters. Consisting of a long, extending silver pole that emits a highly concentrated "flare" of light particles, which remain contained within their area by a local gravitational field that keeps it in check. With that in mind, a user can use certain holds on the spear to change the energy output the staff releases. By increasing the strength of the light "blade", they can hopefully ensure its ability to cut through a species' flesh. The Light Spear is not intended as a javelin, and has no technology for returning it to the user. Razor Discus The next weapon in line of the Permitted's arsenal consists of a discus lined with thin but intensely sharp and strong blades that open up once it leaves the user’s hand. It contains a pressure-sensitive spot where it is held, along with sensors to indicate that it is moving at a certain speed, which let the weapon's AI to know that it is being thrown; this causes it to fold out its blades, meant to eventually strike and slice the target. This weapon only has a limited range and damage ratio due to its small size and thin blades, but it is still considered far better than the Light Spear. Unlike the Light Spear, the Razor Discus is intended to be thrown, and does possess a short-ranged blink device, to allow it to instantly return to the user should it get lodged in a foe. Ion Disruptor Initiates who have completed their trials are allowed a new armament – the Ion Disruptor. Usage of this weapon is actually considered an honor among the Permitted, despite its relative weakness in comparison to higher-grade weaponry. The Ion Disruptor is actually formed out of a genetic hybridization of three separate species from three different planets, pieced together properly to maximize their natural talents into one combined effort in a symbiotic relationship with the user's lifeblood. Although not particularly powerful compared to some of the later weapons (as stated above), it is the first truly ranged weapon, and most Hunters gain a special bond to their symbiont and choose to never be separated from it. Ion Disruptors are physically attached to the user's forearm, who are given a choice on which arm they prefer it to be attached to. Because of this, they do not need a blink device attached to it. If a Permitted dies, the Ion Disruptor will die along with it, as coagulating blood kills it. Likewise, on extremely rare occasions the hybrid may overload with energy and accidentally detonate, typically taking the user's arm with it in a bloody explosion. This very rare occurrence is known as a backfire. Calcium Depleter *''To Be Added'' Ash Revolver No longer in service, the Ash Revolvers are the ancestors to the modern-day Carbon Disintegrators. These weapons were issued to Permitted Elders, and were large and cumbersome devices that, when not in use, folded into itself against the wielder's back. When in use, however, its large chamber would begin to spin, causing whirring sounds to emanate and build in volume as time went on. This sound was noted for being able to "drown out all other sounds", if the trigger was held long enough. Once the trigger was released however, so was a dark energy shot from the chamber that had been being prepared during the entire firing process up until this point. Anything organic it came in contact with would be reduced to black particles of carbon. While extremely useful against overwhelming foes, it was replaced with the more heavy-duty and certainly more reliable Carbon Disintegrator during the beginning of the war with the Meteor Kings. Carbon Disintegrator Carbon Disintegrators are issued to high-ranking Hunters and soldiers, and are one of the only weapons known to be used specifically during wartimes. It evolved from an earlier weapon known as the Ash Revolver. Historical Background Below is a synopsis of the most important events that entail the Permitted's long road to the present. The Permitted history is wrought with tragedies entailing their time in space, and is widely-accepted as what has contributed the most to their xenophobia against other sapients. Evolutionary Background *''Under Construction'' Tribal History *''Under Construction'' Civilizational History *''Under Construction'' Initial Stellar Exploration *''Under Construction'' The Zomm *''Under Construction'' The Tribunal, The Fittest, & the Permitted Civil War *''Under Construction'' Tragedy on Vuunega During a routine stop to the "untamed" planet of Vuunega, the Permitted vessel, Vro'zhuulak Makalakai (Permitted for Impending Destiny), the vessel was mortally crippled when its main thrusters were both decimated by an unknown source, causing the vessel to plummet into the surface of the Zeeon continent, deep inside the catapult tree forest there. Luckily for them, Permitted are a race of survivors, and the crew was not about to let a crash stop them. Unluckily for them, the local Aurix are a curious species...a curious and deadly species. Their ship's crash started a flash fire from the heat the shuttle retained from its orbital entry, and the crew took their first several hours preventing the fire from spreading as best that they could, eventually smothering it after it got 100 meters from the ship's hull. *''Under Construction'' ''"The Most Anti-Social Beings in the Cosmos" *''Under Construction The Meteor Kings & the Ongoing War *''Under Construction'' Tragedy on Velara The Permitted were there when the Riktik ruined everything. They were on a typical mission; however, not having been discovered by any of the three races (the Percusa, the Reathler, and the aforementioned Riktik) formally granted them what they considered undoctrined access to all the world's non-sapient inhabitants. The last few weeks had gone to schedule, with the Permitted dropping down occasionally to the surface, far from the prying eyes of sapients, to collect animal specimens for their own inscrutable purposes. Nothing could have been further from ordinary for these collectors, and this was their final day in orbit before they were to head to Vuunega, to collect there as well. As they began their descent, they took witness to the strange bluish light that had been emanating beyond the Western Plains for some weeks, which they found curious, but saw it as little interest, being as far from interested in sapient races as any other Permitted would be. The light changed in intensity somewhat, flickering a little from their view just inside the atmosphere of the planet, but did little to impress them, as they continued towards their forested destination. They did notice a slight temperature fluctuation that occurred over the entire planet, however, causing them to worry about the more temperature-reliant species that may inhabit the surface. They began to wonder what the light had been all this time, hoping it not to be some sort of weather-changing device, which they’ve seen ruin entire ecosystems in the matter of a few decades. Within only moments, the light grew far more intense, and the temperature returned back to normal far too quickly. Suddenly, everything went berserk on the surface of the planet. Biomes shifted dramatically, faster than anything the Permitted, in their long period of existence, had ever experienced. It was then that they knew that this was bad; really bad. The two pilots of the vessel glanced at each other worriedly: what was going to happen to all the species located thereon? Little could be done for any species already eradicated, but they could still save what lives remained on the planet. Forgoing their species martial rule to not interfere with sapient lives, they quickly dropped their accelerator as far as it would go, speeding as close to the surface as they dared, staying as close to the rapidly changing tree lines as they chanced to get. The second pilot flipped a switch, activating a green light from the bottom of the ship’s hull; the tractor beam had been activated. They sped around the surface, picking up what creatures they could, hoping to collect at least one of each species’ gender. They quickly rushed towards Poluz, in an attempt to hopefully gain a few lucky aquatic species from Lake Lo’Telam before their departure; if the sapients saw them now, they figured it would not matter as much as saving the species. They darted speedily around the lake, tractor beam at full intensity, unsure of what they were picking up but too worried to care. It wasn’t long until their storage bays read as full, and they quickly but sadly lifted straight up, back beyond the atmosphere, out into the void of space. From their vantage point, the world was a rainbow of ever-changing colors. There was little they could do now. They were forced to depart, making a note on their holomap listing Velara as ‘uninhabitable due to sapient interference’. With that and a gloomy air about their actions, the beings looked at their next destination, an ancient world known as Vuunega, which had been wrought with disaster eons ago after a comet collided with the surface. With the disaster came the extinction of almost every species, including the sapient race of that planet, which referred to themselves as the Zomm. This planet had been scanned a few times since then, with the results of no sapient life upon it. They slowly traveled out beyond the final planet of the Velaran solar system, and pushed the quantum accelerator to full throttle. In an instant they were off, speeding towards their next destination. Return to Vuunega By the time the ship arrived within the vicinity of the Zomm’s old star system, the pilots were exhausted; they hadn’t rested in days, and they needed to take inventory on their specimens. They took orbit around the 3rd planet, a "terraformed" world used as one of their temporary zoos, used mainly in transferring creatures from various planets; a veritable crossroads of non-sapient life. The pilot and co-pilot both stood up and walked back into the holding stasis fields, located in the rear of the ship. This section was the most armored part of their vessels, in order to take proper care in sustaining their cargo’s survivability. They had a large load this time, and they ordered the cargo checker to begin inventory immediately while they returned to their seats to rest their weary eyes. It took well over an hour before the cargo checker came bounding back into the pilot cabin. In an exasperated manner, the cargo checker gave the worst of news: sapients had accidentally been brought on-board. Both pilots turned around to face the cargo checker, wide eyed as fear coursed through their veins. What were they to do? All Permitted knew the laws of their race, that the abduction of sapients was punishable by death by their commanding tribunal. After a brief interlude between the three beings, it was revealed that two sapient species were known to be in holding cells. After a long pause of silence, they began frantic discussions of what to do. They couldn’t leave them on-board as their ships were often scanned by the ships’ automatic Tribunal Scanners to make sure no sapients had been brought aboard, and this scanner was tied in directly to the hyper-acceleration drives; this meant that any attempts at tampering with it would lead to them being stranded in space forever. They also were not able to leave sapient creatures on their zoo worlds, as this also was heavy treason. They only had one thing they could really afford to do: leave the sapients on Vuunega, while they off-loaded the Velaran inhabitants on their zoo world, Altega. Vuunega was listed as a hostile world, and while it was "just the kind of place a Permitted would enjoy a nice vacation", it might be deadly to those left stranded there. While they were far from murderers, they knew it was their only option. It would not be long until they were on Vuunega. A Trioculum on "Dinosaur Planet" *''Under Construction'' Allies None, the Permitted are highly xenophobic of other races. Enemies Major Enemies *Aurix *Banned *Fittest *Zomm Trivia *The Permitted were created likely sometime in 2005 for an unrelated game that was being programmed at the time by Somarinoa, entitled, "Alien Dinosaur Trophy Hunter". Category:Somarinoa's Content Category:Eukaryotes Category:Animals Category:Chordates Category:Liquivores Category:Sentient Species Category:Sapient Species